


Home is the Old House on Purr-quoi Street

by ladymal



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cats, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-23
Updated: 2016-03-23
Packaged: 2018-05-28 16:30:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6336250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladymal/pseuds/ladymal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Saehin has lived with the Old Woman since she was a kitten abandoned in a box on the side of the road. It has been a good life full of good food, adventure, and perfect head scratches but for one terrible thing. Solas Greatly Disapproves. Cat AU where Saehin is Flemeth's cat and Solas the feral tom that fights for her freedom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Home is the Old House on Purr-quoi Street

As soon as the Old Woman opened the front door, Saehin knew what she had planned. 

There'd been no rattling of the keys or creak of the hinges and her heels made not a sound on the hard wooden floor. Saehin might not have realized she'd returned at all if not for the faint click of the lock. She froze—tongue still out and hovering over the fur of her belly—before scrambling to her paws and bolting.

There weren't many places in the old house where she could sequester herself and not immediately be dragged back out again but there was one. A rickety cabinet in the kitchen whose legs were stuck to the floor and bottom shelf just tall enough for her to squeeze under. If she made it, she could put off the intended torment for a few hours, at least. Days even, if she was particularly lucky. If she made it—

She didn't make it.

Glossy, dark purple heels stepped out from around the corner in front of her and she reeled. Her paws skid and squeaked against the floor as she desperately tried to avoid crashing and came to an abrupt halt. Dread coiling in her stomach, she looked up. The Old Woman smiled at her with too many teeth and she meets the expression with narrow eyes and stiff, curled ears pinned back as far as they would go.

In the Old Woman's hand was a large, noisy bag decorated with painfully familiar shapes and bright colors that belied the horror within.

"Careful, now. You'll hurt yourself indulging in all these dramatics of yours," the Old Woman chided.

A quiet growl vibrated in Saehin's throat and she lashes her fluffy tail. She wasn't going to surrender that easily. Not now, not ever. Her eyes dart, assessing. The Old Woman blocked the doorway but she was narrow and the opening wide. If she could trick her into opening up that gap just there and she moved just so—

In-between one breath and the next, she sprung, heading for the witch's empty hand. The Old Woman lunged for her as expected and tried to scoop her up but Saehin threw herself left. Above the bag, a space was low and clear. Her muscles bunched with power as she leaped for it. Fur rippling in the wind, she sailed and she knew that she had won. The Old Woman was still slightly bent and reaching for where she'd been only a few heartbeats before. There was no way she would be able to correct before Saehin was long gone. She'd escaped. She—

There was a loud rustle, the scuff of leather-bottomed shoes, and she was landing not on polished wood but a pile of soft fabric surrounded by four paper walls. In the time it took for her to realize what had happened, the witch had pinched the handles of the bag shut again with a cackle.

"You'll have to be quicker than that, clever girl," the Old Woman told her. "Yavana has waited long enough for this week's photos, wouldn't you agree?"

Saehin's only response was a miserable wail.

 

* * *

 

 After the doors had been secured and the windows shut, cat and cloth were both gently dumped out onto the faded, ancient rug in the middle of the room. Saehin was tangled up on the strange bits and bobs that dotted the fabric but she managed to stubbornly dig every claw into it just the same. If she couldn't get away then she could certainly ruin the thing. Of course, the Old Woman only tsked and tickled her paws until she'd reflexively let go with a mortifying chirrup. Snarling, Saehin twisted to her feet as the costume was shaken out and presented to her.

She stared.

The thing was monstrous.

It was clearly meant to make her look human but what sort, she had no idea. Two stiff arms stuck out from the sides, one of which ended in a gray hook. A knotted bit of cloth in bright red was attached to a black hat whose front had a strange crisscross symbol. She wasn't certain exactly how it was supposed to fit on her but it did have a pair of open-ended pants that looked suspiciously like a place made for feline legs. Her fur bristled at the thought.

" _No_ ," she said. A last ditch attempt to put an end to the whole affair. 

"That's quite enough of that. This will go much easier with your cooperation, as you well know."

She yowled and spit, wriggled and brandished her claws, and generally made herself as much a fury as possible but it was useless. The Old Woman was too fast and too crafty and managed to slip the costume over her head and front paws without so much as receiving a prick. At last defeated and sullen, she watched the witch smile and fetch the black rectangle of plastic from her purse.

The Old Woman peered at the rectangle and chuckled. "Aren't you just precious?"

Saehin gave her a narrow look and flexed her paws in anticipation. "I'm going to tear the curtains to pieces."

Eyes bright, the witch leaned down and tickled her chin.

 

* * *

 

As always, the torture was brief though it seemed to drag on endlessly before she was pulled free of the costume and free to go about her day. Saehin wasted no time in making a break for the cabinet in the kitchen and the little crawlspace underneath. It wasn't exactly comfortable—the rough wood pressed on her spine and flattened her ears and the fluffy dust gave her sneezing fits—but it was safe from further swaddling. It wasn't likely that she would be forced to endure another costume until next week but it wasn't worth the risk. She was happy exactly where she was, thank you.

Hours passed quietly as she watched bright sunlight turn to shadows. She half expected the Old Woman to try to coax her out at some point but she never did. It wasn't until evening had fallen into proper night that she even saw her again and then only long enough for the witch to fill her dish with kibble. Saehin inched forward to glare out from the darkness but didn't take the bait.

"I'll leave you in peace," the Old Woman said, sounding amused. "Goodnight, dear girl."

She opened the window above the sink, turned out the lights with a loud click that made Saehin's ears twitch, and then did as promised. Still, Saehin didn't move, irritation continuing to prickle.

A breeze swept through the room, carrying the usual city scents of humans and cars and beneath it a hint of something welcome. She tilted her chin to better catch the wind and swiveled her ears to listen. There came an almost silent thump of a small body landing on the windowsill. Tail flicking, she tracked the shadow in the moonlight as it leaped onto the counter and then the shiny tile floor with a light tap of claws. It prowled over to her cabinet and crouched to peer at her.

"Do you intend to hide there forever, my heart?" Solas asked.

Saehin bristled but couldn't quite swallow the purr that rumbled through her chest. "I'm not hiding."

"No?" He purred in return and though it was just as fond, she got the distinct impression that he was laughing at her. "Come. Eat with me if you're not."

A paw reached in and swatted gently at her nose until she crawled out with an annoyed hiss that was thoroughly ignored. With an affectionate bump of his head, he nudged her over to the dish. She sighed but relented and they ate side-by-side in contentment, their tails twining together. It was an appreciated moment of quiet but she didn't doubt it would be short-lived. Sure enough, it was a few minutes after the last kibble had disappeared when Solas finally brought up The Matter.

"Come with me," he said.

Saehin stopped cleaning her paw and looked at him. His eyes flashed bright and he stretched tall as he prepared himself for battle.

"Leave this place," he continued. "You do not belong here, my heart. Enslaved to the Old Woman's every whim. You can be _free_."

She considered snapping her teeth, knowing that he would snap back. They'd both spit and hiss and stew for a while—maybe bat at each other's noses—but then let it rest by mutual consent until the next time. It was a familiar argument that they circled around again and again and tonight, she found herself exhausted with it.

Sighing again, she padded over to nuzzle his throat. He stiffened but waited to see what she would do, his whiskers quivering.

"I like it here," she said.

And she did. She liked the old house with its polished floors that she could sail so fast on and feel almost like a bird. She liked the window seat in the front room that poured warm sunlight over her as she looked out over the world. 

She liked the neighbors. Dorian who was a cat like her and Iron Bull who was not with his loud bark but both of whom had once helped her fight off a pack of red-eyed rats. The human boy Cole that lived with them and looked after sly Leliana, harsh Ia, and charming Zevran in the empty building across from them.

She liked the Old Woman's daughters. Morrigan—who snuck her treats and allowed her to sleep at the foot of her bed—and Yavana—who massaged her paws and would spend forever brushing her fur. She even liked the Old Woman despite days like today.

She liked being _home_.

For a moment, Solas resisted—tense and proud and not quite willing to just let The Matter go—but it didn't last. Another rub of her cheek against his and he sagged. His tongue tugged on the fur between her ears in a soft kiss.

"You are not a doll to be paraded around for the amusement of others," he murmured.

A burst of love warmed her chest at the words and she purred. _My heart_.

"Leliana and Dorian are planning on stealing a few of Vivienne's pillows tonight and I don't want to miss it," she told him with a smile.

The moon glittered in his eyes as he rolled them but he followed her without protest and together they vanished into the night.

 


End file.
